Economic Survey 2020 to be presented in Parliament today

As the Budget Session of Parliament will commence on Friday, as per tradition, President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament.

President Kovind will deliver a speech in the Central Hall of Parliament at 11 am. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will also chair a meeting of floor leaders of Rajya Sabha at his residence today.

The government on January 31 will release the Economic Survey for 2019-2020 today, just a day before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2020-21 on February 1.

Nirmala Sitharaman was given the crucial Finance Ministry portfolio after Narendra Modi-led NDA government gained a landslide victory in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and came to power for a second consecutive term.

Nirmala Sitharaman, who is only the second woman to present the budget after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, has a big task at hand. She needs to address issues such as economic slowdown, auto sector crisis, severe agrarian crisis, NPAs marring the banking sector.

While all eyes will be on Budget 2020, it is imperative for people to know the key terms associated with the annual exercise.

Here’s a lowdown on some of the important terms to help understand the Budget.

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What is Economic Survey?

The Economic Survey of India is the flagship document prepared by the advisors to the finance minister which comprises of the current trend in the country's economy and a comprehensive report card of economy in that fiscal year.

The Survey is tabled in the parliament a day before the Union Budget of the year is presented.

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The document was first presented in the year 1950-51 and was submitted in the Lok Sabha along with the Union Budget until 1964. In the year 1964, the survey began to be released a day before the Budget.

The survey no only gives a report of the current economic situation, it also makes a statement on issues like global warming, gender equality. For example, the Economic Survey 2018-19 was covered in a pink cloth by then Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian to showcase gender equality.

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The Economic Survey 2020 will be prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta, and a PhD holder in financial economic from Chicago Booth School of Economics. He will roll out the survey on January 31.